by Caris Roane
He ushered her into the foyer where hotel staff took her wrap.
But as she looked up at him, doubts swamped her all over again. She didn’t know what would happen once she related the vile nature of Margetta’s visions. If he had trouble forgiving her for keeping a secret, how would he ever be able to forgive her for what happened at Charborne three centuries ago?
As he guided her toward the ballroom, however, she set aside her fears and doubts. Soon enough, she’d be forced to deal with these issues.
For now, with Stone looking unbelievably sexy in his tux, she chose to give herself to the gala. She might be Queen of Ferrenden Peace, but tonight she felt like a real princess.
As she moved into the ballroom, the first sight that greeted her was all the ruling mastyrs dressed in their finest, each hovering near his woman. Each was a blood rose, a sister of sorts to Rosamunde because of their shared experience.
Those nearest turned in their direction, then offered a spattering of applause that caught on and began to grow until the ballroom thundered. She couldn’t believe the outpouring of gratitude for Stone. Her heart melted and tears touched her eyes.
She squeezed Stone’s arm and he smiled as he looked down at her. His deep voice touched her mind, I forgot how much we have to celebrate tonight. I didn’t mean to be a bear and ruin things.
Her heart melted a little more but for a different reason this time. This was the flip side of the man, that when he calmed down, he was very tender and even kind.
He removed his arm and took a step away from her, then turned in her direction and stated in a loud voice. “For Rosamunde and her part in vanquishing Margetta at the lake.” He applauded her as well and the guests joined in with a second thunderous round.
She was stunned and grew very still. Her fingers clung to the sides of her gown. She didn’t know what to think or even what to do. Naturally, her cheeks warmed up. She hadn’t expected to be honored by Stone’s peers, by anyone really. She’d gone it alone for so long, she wasn’t used to being praised on any level.
By now, her part in the battle at the lake as well as the nature of the protective veil of mist around Ferrenden Peace must have become widely known. Appreciation for her efforts swelled from all corners.
Like Vojalie earlier, Rosamunde was very close to bursting into tears. A couple of the women must have understood because they rushed forward and supported her by taking an arm each.
Abigail, Mastyr Gerrod’s blood rose, kissed her on the cheek. “You haven’t met us yet, we’re your sisters of the blood rose. Come with me.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“I know,” Abigail whispered back.
On her other side, Samantha, Ethan’s woman said, “It’s all overwhelming, isn’t it? Then we have to make it worse by making a fuss. But you deserve this, Rosamunde. So suck it up!”
Something in Samantha’s manner made Rosamunde smile then laugh. She soon found herself in the middle of a group of women she could relate to. Abigail was right. They were a sisterhood and each would continue to do her part to make the Nine Realms safe again.
When the band struck a jazzy rock tune with a lively beat, Mastyr Malik, his brown hair loose past his shoulders and sexy as anything, took Willow away to dance. Jude, whose massive shoulders practically pushed everyone out of the way, grabbed Hannah and took her twirling into the crowd. He had rhythm and a certain amount of grace he enhanced with levitation.
Lorelei drew close. Rosamunde remembered healing her mortal wounds, delivered while Lorelei had been in her wolf form. She embraced her cousin, a hug that lasted a long time.
Lorelei was Margetta’s estranged daughter. Raised by a lovely troll woman, who had been enslaved to serve as Lorelei’s nanny, Lorelei had gained her fine character from the love and values the nanny had given her. “We have a lot to talk about, don’t we? And now that you’re free to leave Ferrenden Peace, we’ll get together soon.”
Rosamunde had a sudden prescience of being close to not just Lorelei but all the women. Mastyr Seth came for Lorelei and kissed Rosamunde on the cheek. She had a bond with the mastyr because she’d saved his woman. She always thought fondly of the sensitive vampire.
Olivia, Zane’s blood rose, came up to her next. She had a very direct way of looking at anyone and didn’t hold back now. “Heard you kicked ass out at the lake. Well done, Rosamunde, and welcome to hell.” She laughed, which made Rosamunde smile in response.
But Olivia wasn’t all brass and kissed her cheek. It will all work out, you’ll see.
She wondered how Olivia could tell what she was suffering but the compassion in her eyes told Rosamunde she’d been in her shoes. All the women had. Zane greeted Rosamunde but Olivia quickly took him onto the dance floor. “Let’s party!” she shouted. Olivia was all wolf.
Regan moved close to her, with Ian beside her. Ian thanked her for her service in sustaining the veil of mist and for her part in defeating Margetta at the lake. “It was my pleasure. It felt so good to be doing something.”
“I get that,” Regan said. Regan led a fae retreat in which for centuries she’d trained young fae in wisdom and skill. “Once I learned of your existence in Ferrenden Peace, I often imagined that your isolation had been extremely tough to bear. Knowing how important community support is, I hope that you’ll think of me, and of your blood rose sisters, as your community. We have a loop, for one thing, and we deal with a lot of very specific blood rose issues. You’re welcome to join us any time.”
“I’d love to.”
Batya came to her last with Quinlan at her side. Rosamunde smiled. “And how is your daughter?”
Batya dipped her chin. “Viola is beautiful, the light of my life and my heart.”
Rosamunde felt a swell of knowing pass through her, a strong fae response. “She’ll be the new queen, soon.”
Batya glanced at Quinlan. “We know. Vojalie was with me at her birth and confirmed what I’d known nearly the whole time I carried her.”
“She’ll be wonderful, especially with the both of you as parents.”
Batya’s eyes glowed. “Thank you so much.”
Quinlan took her hand and kissed her gloved fingers respectfully. “You’ve served the Nine Realms extremely well, and I want to thank you for your service.” Quinlan’s voice, deeper than even Stone’s, eased something inside Rosamunde.
“And I appreciate you saying as much.”
He smiled. “You’re welcome. And now, I’m hearing a slow song and I want to dance with my woman.”
Rosamunde pressed a hand to her chest as the couple moved away. All the mastyrs were dancing now as well as at least two hundred of the most exalted personages in the Nine Realms. Even Davido levitated Vojalie around the floor. When the couple passed by, he winked at her.
Stone was answering questions from several men who looked like a variety of puffed up city officials. She could see his choler rising and decided she’d had enough drama for one night.
She went to him and caught his eye. The look of relief that spread over his face nearly made her laugh. He wasn’t a politician at all.
She kept her composure and pulled her queenly rank on the men who each bowed to her in turn.
“Sorry to take Mastyr Stone away, but he promised me this dance.”
Stone excused himself then drew her into a wonderful swirl of movement that was half-levitation. She followed his lead and for the next several minutes allowed herself the pleasure of just being with Stone, moving to the music and being held in his arms.
She felt young and happy and gave herself to the unusual delights of the gala.
Later, dinner was served in an adjoining banquet room and all the ruling mastyrs and their women sat at a long head table. Dozens of toasts followed. The trolls present often leaped on the tables and did a jig, their feet being an active reflection of emotion.
After desert and coffee were served, Stone rose to make the final toast of the evening. He
spoke for a couple of minutes about the Federation and what it meant for the ruling mastyrs to at last be able to work together against a foe as powerful and dangerous as the Ancient Fae. “Please rise and lift your glasses.” When everyone had gained their feet, he finished with, “To the Federation of the Nine Realms.”
‘Here! Here!’ resounded through the room.
After a fourth glass of champagne, and perhaps because it followed on the heels of her own glass of Scotch as well as a martini, Rosamunde was giddy. She kept encouraging the nearby trolls to outdo each other on the tables and so they did. She couldn’t remember laughing so much in her entire life.
More dancing followed until one by one, the various ruling mastyrs took their women back to their rooms. Because Stone was the guest host of the festivities, she knew he felt obligated to stay to the end. Though he finally drew the line at remaining to watch several drunken trolls playing craps.
Rosamunde walked with him back to the foyer where a hotel maid stood with her wrap, waiting for her. Rosamunde thanked her and Stone placed it over her shoulders.
As she moved with him to the front walk, the street was quiet. Gone were the news crews. In their place, several hotel employees canvased the sidewalk, picking up any debris that had been left behind.
The air was cool at three in the morning. “I thought we’d go back to my house. It’s not far.”
She looked up at him, loving the feel of his hand on her waist. “I remember. I can teleport us there or would you prefer to fly?”
He smiled, dipped down and picked her up in his arms, cradling her. “Let’s fly.” He took off almost at the same moment so that she gave a soft yelp.
He nuzzled her neck. You smell so good. I’ve been meaning to tell you that all night.
Thank you, but I’m not wearing perfume.
And I’m not talking about anything that comes from a bottle. I’m smelling your skin, your blood and your sex. He growled softly.
She wasn’t used to this kind of intimacy and her cheeks warmed up again. At the same time, his words made her tingle all over.
As he flew higher into the sky, he kissed her neck. I’ve been smelling your blood for the past hour. You’ve made an extra supply for me, haven’t you?
As he moved slightly to keep his eye on his trajectory, she drew close and nipped his skin at his throat, just below his jawline. All night, the heaviness in my chest has grown. Each time it increased, I’d look at you and think about yours fangs. She kissed him repeatedly, adding a little more pressure each time.
He groaned softly, the sound from his throat vibrating against her lips. But she needed more. She needed to be Aralynn.
Without warning him, she transformed in his arms.
What the fuck?
She didn’t respond with words. Instead, making use of her wolfish abilities, though still in her womanly form, she opened her mouth wide and took hold of his throat.
He lost control and they started to spin.
~ ~ ~
As Stone righted himself, he slowed and levitated in place not far from his house in the hills. He’d never had such a strong, instantaneous reaction as he’d experienced just now. Rosamunde had not only changed into Aralynn but she’d bit him hard and his mating vibration as well as his cock had lit up and sent him into a spin.
Thank the Goddess he’d been a few hundred feet above the tree canopy or he could have crashed into something and killed them both. He suspected, though, that Rosamunde knew exactly what she was doing.
She still held onto his throat. Very wolf.
He eased her slowly from the cradling position so that he could pull her against him. She slung an arm around his neck then began sucking at his throat.
He groaned so loud he was sure he’d sent shock-waves into the starry night sky above.
You’d better stop. Even his telepathic voice sounded hoarse.
Why? She writhed against him, shifting her hips back and forth. He could tell she was working to feel his arousal.
Because I’m about to lose control again and I won’t make any promises about what could happen this time.
He felt her shudder head-to-toe though not in fear. He wasn’t surprised when she shifted in his arms into a large beautiful, reddish wolf then vanished.
His entire body was on high alert, his keen vampire senses honed as he leveled out like an eagle, staring down into the forest that surrounded his house.
He smiled when he saw her racing through the forest just as she’d done the night before. His arm muscles flexed. Battle power flooded him as he dove through the trees, flying head-first and moving with rocket speed. With tremendous ease, he made the subtlest adjustments to avoid contact with the pine trees. Even if he hadn’t known the winding path as well as he did, he was in warrior mode and it was time to bring the wolf down.
She ran like lightning on all fours and he could feel her joy as well as her intensity.
I’m behind you, Rosamunde. He used her fae name easily now, though she was very wolf in this moment. Somehow, it felt right. Is this all you’ve got?
She picked up her speed so that he had to work to keep up with her. He drove her now, though, because he knew the place in the path at the eastern end, where he wanted to bring her down. It was the most private place on his estate, because for what was going to happen next, he’d need privacy.
You ready for my fangs, Rosamunde?
Yes. Even telepathically, the sound of her voice was wolf-like, almost a yelp.
Good. You’ve got three seconds. Three…
When she bounded he kept up with her. Two…
Before he reached ‘one’, he leaped on her and brought the wolf to the ground, hard. Together they tumbled until they came to a stop. He had his hands in her fur and his legs wrapped around her hindquarters. He pinned her to the earth.
She was laughing as she shifted to leave her wolf behind and become Aralynn.
He bit down hard on the back of her neck.
Ah, Stone. You have no idea how good that feels. Harder.
He gnawed on her and she kept gasping. He could feel her pleasure.
He pulled up her gown and when the mounds of her ass were exposed, he unzipped. Both feats he performed as fast as he could then tore at her thong until it fell away. He grabbed her hips, hauling her to her knees.
Grinding his teeth into the back of her neck a little more, he felt her back arch and her pelvis tilt so that her spine swayed and her head rose as much as he would let it. He wasn’t surprised when a howl left her throat.
Taking his cock in hand, he found her streaming entrance and pushed inside. He groaned heavily, then began to stroke her in long deep thrusts. Rosamunde let a series of soft howls flow from her mouth.
I have to do something, Stone.
What? He had her where he wanted her and he knew she wasn’t about to change position. He wasn’t even sure she could, not with the wolf-hold he had on her.
Then he felt the earth rumble.
Holy shit, she’d accessed the elf-lord power. What did she have in mind? As connected as they were, he felt the power hit her then channel easily through him. And as the power flowed, her violet mist began flooding the nearby trees. Within seconds, he could no longer hear the distant sounds of the city, which in turn meant no one could hear them.
He understood and ground his teeth on the back of her neck a little more. You can let loose now. I’ll fuck you hard and you can howl your head off.
Fuck me, Stone.
He used a combination of his physical strength and levitation to hold her in place, then thrust faster and faster, pistoning inside her.
She arched her back more and more. He could feel he would need to release her throat for her to really howl. But he waited for the exact moment when she was close to orgasm.
He pummeled her, going vampire fast.
She jerked slightly from her chin, a sure sign she was ready.
He let go of her neck but grabbed her hips and let her have it,
slamming into her and making her come.
The howls that erupted were magnificent and grabbed him by the balls. His release came like the rush of a wind. He pulsed hard and shouted as the exquisite pleasure of ecstasy rocked him to the core.
But to his surprise, and maybe because of the elf-lord power flowing through him, the moment didn’t end.
Rosamunde was full of surprises as she transformed back to her fae self and at the same time whirled to face him. His cock slipped out of her, but damn if he wasn’t still hard and ready for a second go.
He fell on her, kissing her and as she parted her lips, he drove his tongue into her mouth. His hand was on her hair and he stroked her head, her arms, then went low to feel her thighs.
But the damn dress was in the way.
He rose up and using both hands, he gripped the top of the bodice.
“Do it!” she cried.
He used his bare strength to rip through what had to be several layers of fabric. He kept going until he’d rendered the garment in two and it fell away from her body.
She wore no bra and her large breasts lay in an inviting milky landscape. He contorted himself to suckle her.
She began working his tie off as he nursed on her.
But he had to pull back to get the rest of the job done.
He disengaged and in a flurry of movement got rid of his jacket, shoes, and pants. Rosamunde was already helping and in the same way he’d destroyed her dress, she ripped his shirt apart, tearing it off his body.
As he leaned in to kiss her again, she caught his face with both hands. “Stone, you’ve got to feed from me. Now. I’m on fire with need and your hunger is stroking me between my legs.” In proof, she rolled her hips and groaned heavily.
She swept her hair away from her throat which caused his fangs to descend like a pair of rockets. ‘Hunger’ was too small a word for what he was feeling.
He angled his shoulders and head and licked a line up her throat, teasing the vein to rise to the surface.
Her voice pierced his mind.
Be inside me, Stone.
He was so consumed with the sudden awareness of his blood hunger that he’d forgotten his cock. How in the Goddess’s name was that possible?